Police said the victim was airlifted for surgery after a confrontation in The Villages.
LADY LAKE, Fla. — A 42-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after police said he stabbed another man during a confrontation near Veterans Memorial Park in The Villages over the weekend.
Lady Lake police said William Tyler Warren was arrested after investigators traced a violent encounter that left a 39-year-old man with life-threatening injuries. The case drew attention because officers said the attack happened in a part of town where that kind of violence is rare. The victim survived after being taken first to UF Health Spanish Plaines and then airlifted to UF Health Shands in Gainesville for surgery.
Investigators said the confrontation happened at about 8 p.m. near Paige Place in a parking lot by Veterans Memorial Park. Police said the fight involved Warren, the 39-year-old victim and a 37-year-old woman they all knew. According to investigators, the dispute centered on that woman. Lady Lake Police Chief Steve Hunt said the incident was serious from the start. “This was a violent incident that left the victim with serious injuries,” Hunt said after Warren was charged. Officers said the victim’s wounds were severe enough that emergency care in Gainesville was needed after his initial treatment in Sumter County.
As detectives pieced together the case, they learned Warren had recently moved from Georgia to the Lady Lake area with the woman involved in the dispute. Officers later found and contacted the woman after not locating her at first. Authorities said she is now cooperating with the investigation. Police also said she was arrested on an unrelated warrant from Georgia. Investigators have not publicly identified the victim or the woman, and they have not released a full arrest affidavit laying out every step of the encounter. What police have said is that the case began with a personal dispute and ended with a man critically hurt and a suspect facing major felony charges.
The case also drew in agencies beyond Lady Lake. Police said the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office alerted them after the victim turned up with life-threatening injuries at UF Health Spanish Plaines. Later, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office detained Warren and took him to the Marion County Jail, where Lady Lake detectives interviewed him. Another local report said Warren admitted his involvement during that interview. Hunt said the case moved quickly because officers and detectives worked with regional law enforcement partners to track Warren down. That coordination became a key part of the department’s public account of how the arrest was made within about a day of the stabbing.
Police have said the investigation remains active, which means more details could still emerge about the moments before the stabbing and whether additional evidence will be filed in court. For now, Warren is accused of attempted murder and aggravated battery, and authorities have said he is expected to face a judge in Lake County. Officers have not announced any added charges, and they have not said whether surveillance video or witness statements will be released publicly. Still, the arrest has moved the case from an emergency medical response into the court process, with detectives continuing to review evidence and complete reports.
The case has stood out in Lady Lake because of both the location and the violence described by police. Hunt said the crime was unusual for the area and said officers were committed to holding the person responsible accountable. That message was aimed at reassuring residents in and around The Villages, where golf cart routes, parks and nearby shopping areas are normally linked more with routine daily life than with violent crime. By Monday, the immediate emergency had shifted to a criminal case, but the victim’s recovery and the full sequence of events remained central questions.
The case now stands with Warren under arrest, the victim alive after surgery and detectives still gathering evidence ahead of the next court steps in Lake County.
Author note: Last updated March 10, 2026.